David H. Caldwell — Preservation on the Muddy Mission

In 1868, David H. Caldwell was called to the Muddy Mission, a notoriously difficult settlement effort in the Virgin River valley (then part of the Southern Utah/Cotton Mission). The settlers faced extreme heat, alkali water, and isolation. Caldwell recorded that during a period of extreme scarcity where the mission was on the verge of collapse due to lack of food, his family was 'miraculously sustained.' He described instances where their meager supplies lasted far longer than naturally possible and how they were protected from the debilitating 'chills and fever' (malaria-like illness) that decimated other families in the camp, which he attributed to their faithfulness in answering the call to the Dixie mission.